What the Queen's Speech means for HR

Yesterday’s Queens Speech heralded the first Conservative majority government in almost 20 years, but what does it mean for HR?     

Early on, Her Majesty said that: “Legislation will be brought forward to help achieve full employment and provide people with the security of a job.”

So is full employment achievable? Speaking exclusively to HR Grapevine, Beverley Sunderland, Managing Director of Crossland Employment Solicitors, had this to say: “I think one of the problems of talking about getting everybody back into employment and employment figures is sometimes you need to drill down and look at the basis of how people are employed. I think the figures are actually slightly skewed by the fact that a lot of people have set up their own business as self-employed, so they’re not unemployed, but are they making a living?”

Tied into the full employment and welfare bill mentioned above is the immigration bill, with Elizabeth II announcing that “Measures will be introduced … to control immigration,” with specifics including the seizing of any wages from illegal workers. Sunderland warned that “If you don’t abide by the required checks then you are at risk of an enormous fine if you employ people who don’t have a right to work here,” before adding that “the kinds of organisations that are going to be employing people who don’t have the right to work here are probably on the government’s target list already.”